Cooking Duck at Home

When duck breast is properly cooked, you will end up with golden crisp skin and a rich interior that can be better than a steak. This meat is usually overlooked; however, it really has the ease of chicken breast and the luxury of steak. Preparing a duck breast at home requires just a pan.

Should you Cook Duck at Home?

A lot of people consider duck breasts as their favourite dish to order at restaurants. The meat’s crisp skin hides a rich interior that is comparable to the best steaks in the world. Aside from its delicious and rich flavour, duck breast is a delicious alternative for guests who do not eat red meat.

Duck breasts can cost as much as a nice steak. But, they are easy to find in most grocery stores, although they can sometimes be available frozen. Also, they can be ordered online. Packaging labels of duck may not interchange the use of duck and ducklings. That’s why consumers should not let nomenclature dissuade them. Moulard and Muscovy breasts are bigger and can be very strong in flavour. Also, they can be tougher to cook. White Pekin duck is milder and smaller as well as easier to find.

Cooking Duck Breast at Home

The recipe below requires two Pekin duck breasts that you can easily find at most markets. Here are the steps to follow when cooking duck breast:

Score the skin. Just like a steak, take the duck out the fridge so it warms up a bit before you cook it. Use a sharp knife for scoring the skin. Create shallow diagonal cuts across it, cutting through the skin without hitting the fat below it.

Cook the duck in a cold pan. Add the breast skin-side down to the pan and turn the heat to medium. As the pan and breast heat slowly, the fat will drain down, leaving the skin crispy.

Cook the duck to a controlled temperature. A number of cooks prefer to remove some or all of the duck fat from the pan before they flip it. However, you can also cook the meat in the fat to make it more succulent. When you cook the breast like a steak, you will come up with more tender breasts. If you are like other cooks, you may want the breasts medium-rare so you cook it to 135°F before you remove it from the oven.